BSR 181:

Environmental Technology 1

LECTURE 1:
CLIMATE

Prepared by :

Sr.Noorazlina Kamarulzaman
MSc Facilities Management (UTM)
BSc (Hons) Building Surveying (UM)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 : CLIMATE
CLIMATIC ZONES

CLIMATIC ELEMENTS

CLIMATE-EMPHASIS ON
WARM AND HUMID
CLIMATE

THERMAL CONTROL BY
CONSTRUCTION METHOD

GBI IN BRIEF
OBJECTIVES

Understanding types of
climate zones LEARNING

Describe the OUTCOME

characteristics for
climate in tropical zones Identify the relationship between
human climate, the
environmental and building
design.
 THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
WEATHER & CLIMATE

?
 Difference Between Weather and Climate

Weather concerns the current atmospheric conditions

including temperature, rainfall, wind, and humidity at any
given place. Weather is what is happening right now or
likely to happen tomorrow or in the very near future.
Should you wear a jacket? Will it rain tomorrow? Will we go
to class tomorrow if this heavy rain continues?

Climate accounts for all past weather events and for

future climate predictions. Accurate climate data collected
over a long period can also provide useful quantitative
assessments of the likelihood of various weather
conditions in the next several years. For example, in
November, we expect it to often be rainy in Terengganu,
Kelantan and Pantai Timor area.
 DEFINITION
“Climate is a nature forces of ‘average weather’ driven by
sun over a period of time ranging from months to
thousands or millions of years. The classical period is 30
years. Climate, that influenced the temperature,
precipitations, the shifting of seasons and wind”.

World Meteorological Organization

 World c l i m a t e z o n e s

Garisan Sartan
North
Hemisphere

Garisan
Khatulistiwa

Southern
Garisan Jadi Hemisphere
World Climatic Zones
World Climatic Zones
 classifications

CLIMATE ZONES
Climate is a concept used to divide the world into regions sharing
similar climatic parameters. Climate regions can be classified on
the basis of temperature and precipitation (rain, snow, freezing
rain, sleet).
1) Polar Climate - very cold and dry all year. E.g.
Antarctica, Greenland.

2) Temperate Climate - cold winters and mild

summers. E.g. Western Europe, North America

3) Arid climate - dry, hot all year, sandstorm. World

famous desert e.g. Sahara, Kalahari, Namibia.
 classifications

CLIMATIC ZONES:

4) Tropical climate - hot and wet all year. E.g.

Brazil, Malaysia, South America, Indonesia,
Myanmar.

5) Mediterranean climate – mild winters, dry hot

summers. E.g. countries located near
Mediterranean Sea.

6) Mountains climate – very cold all year . E.g.

Everest, Alps.
 classifications

TROPICAL COUNTRIES
Tropical countries are categorized into 3 climatic zones:
1) Rainforest Tropical Climate – located on Equator
Line. E.g. Brazil, Malaysia, South America. Warm and
humid, high humidity with sun and rain all season.

2) Subtropical climate - wet and dry with very low

humidity. Located on both sides of equator, in both
northern and southern hemisphere. E.g. Thailand,
Vietnam, Myanmar.

3) Arid climate - Baghdad, Arizona, Africa known

with the world famous desert e.g. Sahara, Kalahari,
Namibia. Extreme hot and cold weather together with
sandstorm.
 What factors affect climate?
1) Latitude
Temperature range increases with distance from the
equator. Also, temperatures decrease as you move
away from the equator. This is because the suns rays
are dispersed over a larger area of land as you move
away from the equator. This is due to the curved
surface of the earth. In addition polar regions are
colder because the suns rays have further to travel
compared to place on the equator.

2) Altitude
Temperatures decrease with height. The air is less dense
and cannot hold heat as easily.
3) Winds
If winds are warm - they have been blown from a hot
area - they will raise temperatures. If winds have
been blown from cold areas they will lower
temperatures.

4)Distance from the sea

Land heats and cools faster than the sea.
Therefore coastal areas have a lower
temperature range than those areas inland. On
the coast winters are mild and summers are
cool. In inland areas temperatures are high in
the summer and cold in the winter.
5) longitud
Slopes facing the sun are warmer than those that are not. Thus south
facing slopes in the northern hemisphere are usually warm. However,
slopes facing north in the southern hemisphere are warmest
Spring

Winter
Summer
North h South h date
SM W 21/5-21/7
A SP 22/8-22/10
W SM 22/11-21/1
SP A 21/2-21/4 Autumn
 conclusion

• Climate has a major effect on building performance and energy

consumption. The process of identifying, understanding and
controlling climatic influences at the building site is perhaps the
most critical part of building design.

• The key objectives of climatic design include:

• To reduce energy cost of a building.

• To use "natural energy" instead of mechanical system and

power.

• To provide comfortable and healthy environment for people

Examples of environmental connection :
Natural Built environment features
environment
Hot dry Light-coloured surfaces
climates Roof overhang to provide shade
Openings for breezes
Courtyard to trap cooler air
Warm humid Lightweight materials
climates Building on stilts for ventilation
Cold climates High insulation
Tightly-sealed construction
Snowfalls Strong roots for load
Sloping roof to discards snow
High winds Low sunken building
Forests Timber as construction material
Loose stone Stone as construction materials
or quarries
Clay soil Brick as construction materials
Earthquake Lightweight flexible construction
zones Reinforced masonry and construction
 tropical climate

• Different climates formed as a result

of the clash between the sun and
the atmosphere and gravity along
National with the distribution of land & sea.
Mosque

• The boundaries between these

climates are not appropriate.
tropical climate

Tropical climate can be classified to

three main groups which are:

1) TROPICAL RAINFOREST CLIMATE

2) SUB TROPICAL MONSOON CLIMATE

3) ARID CLIMATE
1) TROPICAL RAINFOREST COUNTRIES
(MALAYSIA, BRAZIL, NIGERIA):
1) Climate in this zone is normally average and comfortable compared to
other tropical zones.
2) Contain high water vapour, thus the air temperature is a bit lower than
the other tropical zones.
3) High quantity of clouds produces high water evaporation due to plenty
of seawater surface surrounding (Laut China Selatan, Selat Melaka) –
create clouds.
4) Clouds filter high solar transmittance and radiation.
5) Heavy rains, especially during the early term of monsoon, will reduce
high temperature
6) High wind speed (more than 20m/s) especially on the early term of
monsoon – could produce a storm
7) Air temperature is normally 27°C
8) Very high humidity : tropical forests – quantity of water vapour – sun –
humidity
2. SUB TROPICAL MONSOON COUNTRIES
(THAILAND, VIETNAM, MYANMAR, CAMBODIA) :

1) Climate temperature – normally higher than tropical

rainforest or lower compared to desert zones

2) The air temperature is higher than the tropical rainforest

countries. Very dry especially during the noon

3) The quantity of cloud is less compared to the tropical

rainforest countries. Thus direct sunlight – high
temperature.

4) Low humidity because direct sunlight have extract all water

vapour

5) Heavy rains in several places especially near the sea shore.

3. ARID / DESERT COUNTRIES (SAHARA,
KALAHARI, AFRIKA, AMERICA & ARAB REGION) :

1) Climate temperature – higher than tropical rainforest and

sub tropical monsoon countries

2) Very dry and very low humidity

3) Sky is so clear, with only a few clouds

4) Rain is very limited

5) Very hot, limited water vapour

6) Normal temperature 35-40°C

7) Received direct sunlight, because there are no clouds/

few clouds
Climatic Elements
The main climatic elements, regularly measured by meteorological
stations, and published in summary form are:

1) Temperature (°C)- Influence by topography (every 100m

increase in altitude, temperature drop 10C)

2) Humidity (%) - Influence by water vapour and temperature

(watery surface or vegetation covered, evaporation increased
 higher humidity (RH 40%-60%)

3) Air movement (m/s) - Influence by surface texture :

a)Topography that change wind direction.
b)Land and sea breezes 3km kilometer from coastal area.

4) Precipitation (mm/t) - the total amount of rain, hail, snow, dew,

measured in rain gauges
5) Cloud cover - based on visual observation and expressed as a
fraction of the sky hemisphere (tenths, or 'octas' = eights) covered
by clouds.

6) Sunshine duration - the period of clear sunshine (when a sharp

shadow is cast), measured by a sunshine recorder which burns a
trace on a paper strip, expressed as hours per day or month.

7) Solar radiation (W/m2)- Influence by 3 factors :

a) Brightness of atmosphere (pollution, smoke, haze, fog and
overcast sky)
b) Site orientation
c) Slopes

As the four environmental variables directly affecting thermal

comfort are temperature, humidity, solar radiation and air
movement, these are the four constituents of climate most
important for the purposes of building design. Rainfall data may
sometimes be needed, such as for designing drainage systems
and assessing the level of precipitation.
 Stevenson box
Solarimeter

Fan anemometer
Microclimate
Data Logger Microclimate
Monitoring System
Climatic elements such as solar radiation,
precipitation, air temperature, wind velocity will
effect the design of roof, openings (door, window)
and type of materials used for buildings.

Characteristic of climate will influence human

activity in building.

It is important to design building with-nature-

approach in order to provide comfortable shelter for
human being in this planet.

• Information required :
– Climatic elements influencing human comfort
interactions with the building

• Forms of information:
– Average, change & extreme conditions